The Jinn Are Coming…

Finally, I have a publication date for Jinn Nation! I’m officially setting it for a week’s time – Saturday 2 July, although you’ll probably be able to purchase the Amazon Kindle version a lot sooner. I’m planning to cover the other major ebook readers too, so don’t feel left out if you own a Nook or an iPad. It will also be available as a paperback in the very near future. So if you like novels about sadistic vampires with a vulnerable streak, unhinged psychics and beautiful goddesses with a penchant for megalomania, all set against a global stage, like my Facebook page or follow my Twitter feed to be among the first to know where and how to buy it. You can read an exclusive extract at my website.

Here’s the cover I’ve been so excited about:

This is so much better than anything I could have come up with on my own; I’m so glad that the rather excellent Andy Isaacs agreed to do it for me (my knowledge of graphic design is painfully limited).

As happens with most things I attempt to do within any sort of sensible timeframe, the publication date is a little later than I’d planned. Most days I’ve been working with the Sprogling firmly tucked into one elbow, leaving me with only one hand to type with. I love that she’s a cuddly baby, but the fact that she usually hates to be put down for any length of time does make life interesting. Especially if you desperately need to do the housework or take a shower. She’s also started to smile properly now (she’s 9 weeks old today), so obviously every time she does it, all work has to stop while I marvel at how gorgeous she is.

Proof! (or just an excuse to show off more pictures of my newborn, you decide).

I’ve just realised that I’ve laid all the blame for my own slackness on my child. Shameful. Well, my next project shouldn’t take me so long to finish. I’ve just reacquired the rights to my first novel, Dunraven Road, and I’m planning on republishing it with a shiny new cover and bonus material in the very near future. After that I’ll be continuing to write my new novel – one-handed no less, with a smiling Sprogling curled against my arm

The New Californian Gold Rush

I’m so happy to announce that my very first offering for the Amazon Kindle is now live on their site – mostly because formatting it took so bloody long.  It’s my zombie novella, The Undead Alliance.  

Want a blurb?

A new novella from the author of Dunraven Road.

He’s a stinking, undead, rotting carcass with unfortunate brain activity. She’s a human captive, kept alive so that her vital organs can one day help sustain her rotting zombie masters. Romeo and Juliet they ain’t.

Gabriel thought that waking up as a zombie was the end of the world. In fact, a new world was just beginning – a world of dark, creeping horror overseen by a decomposing eccentric in a pirate costume calling himself Captain James.

Five short years later and the dead have risen up to claim the UK. Gabriel finds himself in charge of the North Sector Harvesting Plant, watching the daily influx of the living with a weary eye. Having become increasingly disillusioned with The Undead Alliance and its practices, the arrival of the very human Daisy seems to be his salvation – but who would ever love a zombie? If he wants to convince her he’s more than just the sum of his maggot infested parts, he’ll have to break her out of the harvesting plant and defy everything the Alliance stands for. All of which is easier said than done, especially when he has to deal with the unwanted attentions of Princess – the icy paramour of Captain James himself.

Is Gabriel strong enough to turn against his charismatic yet ultimately evil leader? Or will he watch Daisy die?

I’m getting ahead of myself though, perhaps I should explain how I came to the decision to self-publish (which will henceforth be known as indie publishing, because it sounds sooo much cooler)…

For those of you who’ve been listening to my radio show, you’ll know I’ve been talking about e-publishing and the Kindle in particular, especially since Amazon recorded astronomical Kindle sales over the Christmas period. So many sales in fact, that at one point the Kindle was outselling the latest Harry Potter book. I’ve always been interested in digital publishing, although back in 2008 I was lamenting the fact that “In the early days… ebooks also suffered from the same snobbery used to demean print-on-demand services. If you had to resort to publishing through an ebook publisher, your book wasn’t worth jack.” Well, I think I can safely say that things have now changed. The Kindle and other major ebook readers such as Barnes & Noble’s Nook steadily grew in popularity over the course of last year, meaning of course that ebooks did too – particularly those published by indie authors who unlike the traditional publishers were putting out their work at a decent price. Paranormal romance author and indie publishing’s current heroine Amanda Hocking has sold over 185, 000 books since April 2010. E-publishing has suddenly become interesting.

Now, of course you’ll always be able to find self-published novels of the same calibre as some of the drek that often stinks up the place over at Lulu; but authors such as J.A. Konrath and H.P. Mallory are proof that this is no longer the norm. J.A. Konrath in particular propounds upon the benefits of hiring professional book designers and cover artists. It seems there really is nothing a traditional publisher can do that an author can’t do for themselves. Social networking even makes promotion easier (and cheaper), often bypassing the need for the sort of large scale advertising campaigns employed by the traditional print publishers (campaigns which have become infrequent to non-existent in recent years anyway, giving new authors about as much support as a cheap sports bra).

Perhaps what has really spurred me on to try my hand at indie publishing though is the amount of control you retain; not only over the content of your work, but over the royalties you can accrue. Many authors claim they’re not indie publishing simply because the traditional publishers rejected them, they’re indie publishing because they get a better deal. All of which is starting to make the traditional publishers and agents sweat into their designer suits.

In the wise words of J.A. Konrath:

“This is the California Gold Rush of 1849. Will everyone get rich? No. But damn near everyone who tries will make more money than they would if they try the traditional publishing route.”

Why wouldn’t you mark out a spot and start sifting for gold?

So, The Undead Alliance is my trial run. I’m planning to do similar things with my latest novel, Jinn Nation and I’m excited